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school discipline & safety
The operative claimOut-of-school suspension and other exclusionary discipline are associated with — and in several quasi-experimental studies appear to worsen — suspended students' attendance, achievement, and graduation and their risk of dropout and justice-system involvement; the practice is applied with large racial and disability disparities, but rigorous causal estimates of its effect on test scores are mixed.
Exclusionary discipline is consistently correlated with worse outcomes and is harmful in several quasi-experimental studies, but the causal effect on test scores is disputed and selection bias is hard to exclude.
The correlational base is large and consistent (meta-analyses tie suspension to lower achievement, higher dropout, and more delinquency). Quasi-experimental evidence is mixed: a Philadelphia student-fixed-effects/IV study finds suspension lowers achievement, and an NYC study finds worse attainment, while an Arkansas student-fixed-effects analysis finds near-null test-score effects and warns of residual selection. Disparities by race and disability persist after controlling for reported behavior, but the mechanisms are debated. Effects appear most credible for attendance, attainment, and delinquency; least settled for test scores.
Lacoe, J., & Steinberg, M. P (2018). Do suspensions affect student outcomes?. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 41(1), 34-62.
Observational · K-12
Using student fixed effects and an instrumental-variable strategy leveraging a district policy change, a suspension decreased the suspended student's math and reading achievement; spillovers onto peers were very small and negative, not positive — evidence the practice harms rather than helps.
Bearing on this claim: Philadelphia student FE/IV: suspension lowers math/reading achievement; tiny negative peer spillovers.
doi.org/10.3102/0162373718794897Noltemeyer, A. L., Ward, R. M., & Mcloughlin, C (2015). Relationship between school suspension and student outcomes: A meta-analysis. School Psychology Review, 44(2), 224-240.
Meta-analysis · K-12
Meta-analysis found a significant inverse relationship between school suspension and academic achievement and a significant positive relationship between suspension and dropout; out-of-school suspension and participant characteristics moderated the associations.
Bearing on this claim: Meta-analysis: suspension inversely related to achievement, positively to dropout.
doi.org/10.17105/spr-14-0008.1Gerlinger, J., Viano, S., Gardella, J. H., Fisher, B. W., Chris Curran, F., & Higgins, E. M (2021). Exclusionary school discipline and delinquent outcomes: A meta-analysis. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 50(8), 1493-1509.
Meta-analysis · school-age
Synthesizing 274 effect sizes, exclusionary discipline was a meaningful predictor of increased delinquency (school misconduct, antisocial behavior, justice involvement), with consistent harm across race/ethnicity and exclusion type — suggesting exclusion may exacerbate rather than reduce misbehavior.
Bearing on this claim: Meta-analysis (274 effect sizes): exclusionary discipline predicts increased delinquency across subgroups.
doi.org/10.1007/s10964-021-01459-3Counter-authority (1). Studies an adversary may cite — surfaced deliberately so the grade is honest about its limits.
Anderson, K. P., Ritter, G. W., & Zamarro, G (2019). Understanding a vicious cycle: The relationship between student discipline and student academic outcomes. Educational Researcher, 48(5), 251-262.
Observational · K-12
Using student fixed effects on 10 years of Arkansas data, exclusionary consequences were related to worse academic outcomes than less-exclusionary consequences for the same infraction, but sensitivity checks showed estimates may still reflect selection into consequence type; a companion analysis found near-null test-score effects, cautioning that reducing suspensions alone may not raise achievement.
Bearing on this claim: Arkansas student FE: near-null test-score effects; warns of residual selection and that reductions alone may not raise achievement.
doi.org/10.3102/0013189x198487203 supporting · 1 counter verified sources
Students who are suspended differ systematically from those who are not, so selection bias is the central threat; rigorous designs disagree on the test-score effect; reducing suspensions without supports has shown minimal academic gains; and the mechanisms behind racial/disability disparities are contested. The rating is of a probable harm to attendance/attainment/delinquency, not a settled causal test-score effect.
Last reviewed June 26, 2026